Negotiations In 1864 Case Study

1864 was a critical year in the U.S. civil war for both the Union and the Confederacy. It was election year and both sides required a decisive blow to shift the tide of war to their side. Lincoln needed a decisive victory in the war to regain the support of public opinion, whom at this point were generally unfavorable towards the war effort, to be reelected (Gordon, n.d.). In an attempt to sway public opinion towards the war effort, the Union was devising a major offensive for both the eastern theater in Washington and Richmond, as well as in the west and central regions in Atlanta. Whereas for the Confederacy, Davis and his administration needed to depose Lincoln and get a democrat in the White House for the possibility of reopening peace talks for southern independence, especially after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. For this very reason, both sides were dealing with major strategic considerations prior to the Union attack in May 1864 to gain the upper hand. The effectiveness of each side’s strategy had varying degrees of success during this period. Consequently, because of the events of the North’s Overland Campaign by September’s end, the Union as well as the Confederacy’s plans for the war effort necessitated change to adapt to the new

One consideration, and the plan that was ultimately reached, was for Lee, who was dubbed ‘the king of spades,’ to lay down fortifications, such as trenches, as well as blocking any further advancement into their territory near their capital (Paret, 1986). Lee, who was highly doubtful a Northern success in the deeper south, strategically felt that keeping his troops in Virginia to defend Richmond would prolong the war effort (Gordon, 2018; Stoker